


The Bartlet Bus

by arborealstops



Category: The West Wing
Genre: AU where Andy doesn't exist, Fluff, Gen, Pre-Series, bullet point drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 16:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17963846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arborealstops/pseuds/arborealstops
Summary: If anyone wants to re-write this as an actual fic instead of a bunch of bullet points (@ all my friends you're good writers help a girl out) I'd literally love that? This was a cute idea but I don't have the skill to write it (also @ my friends, this is a proven fact, I can't write cute things so don't fight me on this one) and that's why it's just bullet points.  I'd love to see what people would do with this as a longer story.(also totally listen to those songs that they sang because they're all pretty great)





	The Bartlet Bus

-The Bartlet team bought an old school bus with some of their leftover funds  
-Josh voted that they paint it blue and call it the “cool bus,” but he lost and it became the Bartlet Bus  
-It was rarely used, they usually had a much better form of transportation- it was more like a mascot  
-It traveled with them and sometimes carried luggage  
-But it was never really used  
-That is, until…   
-CJ was supposed to book plane tickets for them to go back to New Hampshire, but got distracted and it never happened  
-The cars had left the day before  
-Literally all that was left was the Bartlet Bus  
-No one even thought of it until they’d all panicked for a little while  
-Then you just hear the governor’s voice “We have a bus.”  
-Leo rolls his eyes and Toby hopes he’s joking  
-He’s not  
-So on the Bartlet Bus they go  
-Most of the campaign staff left with the cars, so now it’s just Leo, Margaret, Josh, Donna, Sam, Toby, CJ, and the governor and his wife  
-And it’s getting kind of late  
-Leo and Abbey are the only ones allowed behind the wheel at first  
-But Abbey’s driving privileges are quickly removed when her husband won’t quit distracting her   
-There are copious amounts of cheap beer being handed around as well  
-(which isn’t a problem for Leo, because “if it comes in a can, it’s not even worth my time”)  
-At first they all labeled the cans, but that turned out to be a hassle, so now Toby isn’t sure if he’s drinking his own beer or the governor’s  
-Josh was only one beer in when he moved to sit next to Sam and laid his head in his lap  
-He ended up shoving an empty cooler between two benches so he could rest his feet on Donna’s lap  
-Not that she noticed, she was too busy telling Margaret about the book she’d just finished  
-CJ was singing along to whatever came on the radio (she knew an impressive amount of Spice Girls)   
-She tried serenading Toby in an attempt to get him to smile  
-(which he did, but only when she wasn’t looking, because he rather enjoyed the show)  
-After Abbey lost the driver’s seat she tried to sit with CJ   
-But Jed was having none of that  
-He dragged her to the back, which she only let him do because she knew Toby wanted to talk to CJ  
-So Abbey and Jed snuggled in the back  
-And the more intoxicated the staff got, the more blankets and beer cans were thrown at the two of them  
-Until they just gave up on being cute and requested full cans of beer  
-And then once Jed and Toby had relaxed a decent amount  
-CJ and Abbey started a singalong  
-Mostly because the two of them could sing, and were drunk, and CJ was tired of only showing off to Toby  
-So CJ and Abbey got up and started singing You Don’t Own Me   
-And as soon as that ended Sam sang (and attempted to dance) to I’m Coming Out  
-But he fell and ended up in Josh’s lap  
-Not that either of them minded  
-The big hits were Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Wannabe, Never Gonna Give You Up, If I Could Turn Back Time, and 9 to 5  
-At some point in time Josh insisted that they all sing Coconut   
-He started the music and he and Josh sang the beginning  
-Then CJ and Abbey joined in, and then Donna  
-They got Margaret to sing the “Doctor” in a rather ridiculous voice  
-But Jed and Toby refused  
-So Abbey and CJ decided to punish them  
-And if you look hard enough through Abbey’s old home films  
-You will find a terribly recorded video of the ex-President and his communications director  
-Singing Barbie Girl  
-And there are chip bags everywhere  
-And Coke cans  
-And Leo is spending the whole drive trying to decide if he’s relieved that the governor is relaxing or pissed because it’s so loud  
-But eventually the sun starts coming up  
-And all the caffeine, adrenaline, and sugar have worn off  
-And it’s oddly quiet and calm  
-And Leo just looks in the rearview mirror  
-And smiles  
-Because Jed and Abbey are snuggling in the very back row, her head on his chest and his hand in her hair  
-Because Donna has her head on Margaret’s shoulder and they’re holding hands underneath an old blanket  
-Because Josh is curled into an awkward position so that his head is in Sam’s lap and Sam covered them with his jacket  
-Because CJ is stretched out in the aisle, the only place she could almost-comfortably fit, and her hand is up on the bench, holding Toby’s  
-Because he was driving and they were sleeping and they all looked happy and that made him happy  
-Because for the first time since there had been even a hint of a chance of Jed winning  
-The Bartlet team looked like a family

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants to re-write this as an actual fic instead of a bunch of bullet points (@ all my friends you're good writers help a girl out) I'd literally love that? This was a cute idea but I don't have the skill to write it (also @ my friends, this is a proven fact, I can't write cute things so don't fight me on this one) and that's why it's just bullet points. I'd love to see what people would do with this as a longer story.
> 
> (also totally listen to those songs that they sang because they're all pretty great)


End file.
